Gears of War: Judgment is a , developed by and and published by for the . in North America on March 19, 2013, with subsequent regions following later that month. It is a spin-off of the series and a prequel to the entire franchise.
On June 4, 2012, Microsoft announced the development of Gears of War: Judgment at the company's press conference during the , before releasing a debut trailer and demonstrating the upcoming multiplayer features. Prior to Microsoft's announcement, video game journalists had already determined that the chronology of events in Gears of War: Judgment would pre-date that of the other releases in the franchise, and that the prequel would feature and as protagonists.
Gears of War: Judgment received favorable reactions from critics, albeit less positive than its predecessors. Critics cited the game's multiplayer mode, visuals and action as strengths, but criticized the single-player campaign's narrative and length, as well as the game's failure to innovate the series' gameplay. By August 2013 it sold over 1 million copies.
The main campaign is divided into six chapters, each with several missions. Unlike the previous games in the series, which used very large, open environments, missions are self-contained portions of the overall story and returning to earlier missions' settings is never possible. Each mission is scored on several criteria including the number of kills by the player, , and , and up to three stars are awarded. During each mission an optional, harder setting is available mandates certain criteria such as a time limit or a restriction on usable weapons; doing so increases the score. Obtaining 40 stars unlocks the separate "Aftermath" campaign, which consists of one chapter and is a follow up to the campaign. Aftermath does not award stars or offer the harder setting seen in the Gears of War: Judgment campaign.